Snow and Ice Rimmed Windows
by Alaena F. Dragonstar
Summary: First snow and Fuji decides to make a snowman. And of course he just has to show someone! Tezuka's just handy.


Disclaimer: Standard 

Notes: This takes place in college years

Snow & Ice Rimmed Windows

It was in the pale gray light of early dawn that he first realized it was snowing. Having gotten out of bed to get a cup of water, he was standing before the sink, glass held up to his lips, when he caught a glimpse of something feathery and white drifting down in light curtains beyond the slightly misted glass of the kitchen window.

He had stood there for a long moment, the cold, wooden floorboards warming slowly under his bare feet and the cup of water still held before his mouth. But he wasn't in any hurry to move, content to simply stand there and watch entranced as flakes of pure white floated through the still, morning air.

It was an enchanting sight, projecting a sense of calm peace into the very soul of all who looked upon it.

It wasn't until the last of the crystal flakes drifted past the glass that Fuji blinked, emerging into reality once more as a genuine smile curved his lips. So the snows had finally fallen—he had been waiting.

Hurriedly gulping down the rest of his water, he deposited the glass in the sink and hurried out of the kitchen, making a beeline for the front door. Snagging his jacket off of the coat hanger, he pulled it carelessly over his pajamas before stuffing a pair of gloves into one of the pockets and slipped into his shoes, forgetting socks all together.

Stepping outside was like walking into a completely different world where a clean, fluffy white was the predominant color. It crunched beneath his feet and spilled from the trees like frozen waterfalls, glimmering sheets of powdered crystal that slowly thickened with each passing second as the pale flakes resumed their fall after the brief respite. It was all so bright somehow! Even the air seemed to smell fresher.

Running out into the center of the front lawn—which had long since transformed into a snowfield—Fuji turned his face up towards the sky and grinned. A scattering of flakes were still falling… Flakes of snow landed on the exposed parts of his skin, melting almost instantly and leaving behind nothing but the faintest trace of moisture. It was like rain only better.

Letting his gaze drop back to the heaps of snow all around him, he adopted a thoughtful air. It just seemed to be calling for him… Now…what should he do with it…

Slowly, his grin morphed into a more speculative smile before finally shifting into a mischievous one.

x-X-x

Winter is a time of cheer and crystalline visions that glitter like illusionary galleries for the masterpieces of time. Just overnight, the entire world seemed to have been transferred from the last, lingering clutches of autumn into the chillingly white hold of winter.

Everything was covered in snow—a layer of pure, clean white that coated the houses and clung in fluffy clumps to the branches of the trees. It lay over the sidewalks, heedless of the fact that it might soon be swept away, and it was really such a pity that it would soon be marked and distorted. Even the pale, blue sky overhead seemed to be glowing with the light reflected from the shimmering drifts of snow.

It was a beautiful season, Tezuka mused, but he would be able to appreciate it much more if his vision wasn't slightly blurred by the lack of his glasses. The problem was that he just couldn't seem to find them.

Turning back towards the nightstand by his bed, he ran his hand over it for the tenth time in the last minute or so to reassure himself that he hadn't just somehow missed his glasses. But his questing fingers encountered nothing more interesting than the lamp's brass stand and the low, flat box that served as his alarm clock. Still, he was sure that he had put his glasses there the night before—he did so every day after all and this was the first time it had ever been missing.

_There's a first time for everything_, he thought sourly. He never did like that saying.

_Maybe Fuji will know where it is_. Turning away from the window, he followed the well known path out of his room and down the hall and tapped on his friend/housemate's door. There was no answer. That could mean one of four things. One, Fuji could still be asleep—but somehow that struck him as rather unlikely. Two, Fuji could be developing something, seeing as that was the whole reason for which he had installed a darkroom in his bedroom. Three, Fuji could be choosing to ignore him, which was entirely possible with just how unpredictable the tensai could be. Or four, Fuji wasn't in his room at all.

Now, if having known Fuji Syusuke all through junior high, high school, and now their first year of college had taught Tezuka anything it was that he should never try to guess what the tensai was going to do. Still, he was pretty sure that at least one of his last three predictions had to be correct.

"Fuji?" he called again, knocking louder this time. There was still no answer. He was just preparing to knock again when he was interrupted by a voice drifting from farther down the hall.

"Tezuka?" the voice was slightly muffled. "Could you come look at something?"

Frowning slightly, Tezuka shook his head, forgetting that he couldn't be seen, before heading for the kitchen—where, apparently, Fuji wasn't, "Have you seen my glasses?"

"Huh? Your glasses? You can look for them later," Fuji insisted, appearing from the entrance hall dressed in the strangest combination of sleep and winter wear Tezuka had ever seen. "I want you to look at something."

"Fuji," Tezuka sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "there is a reason I wear glasses."

"Hmm…so?"

Shaking his head, the taller youth proceeded to search the kitchen. Maybe he'd left it there the day before—though how he couldn't really say. It was worth a shot though.

Fuji wrinkled his nose, slipped off his gloves, and grabbed his friend's arm, tugging insistently, "You can look for it later! I want to show you something I made."

Tezuka's arm jerked involuntarily and he leveled the short brunette with a stern glare, "Put those gloves back on, your hands are freezing!"

"Fine, fine, but you have to come see what I made."

"And if I don't?"

Fuji grinned and wiggled his long, pale fingers. One could almost hear a sizzling sound.

Sighing a little, Tezuka resigned himself and followed his friend to the front door, hoping that it wouldn't take long. Pulling his jacket on and stepping into his shoes, he made sure the edges of his gloves were tucked under the cuffs of his jacket before finally stepping out of the house. It had stopped snowing, but just looking at Fuji in his carelessly pulled together and highly mismatched garb was enough to make anyone feel cold.

"So, what is it?" he asked finally when Fuji just continued to smile benignly at him.

"It's right over there," the brunette pointed, smile growing wider and more mischievous by the second, "it's my snowman. Do you like it?"

Turning in the direction he thought Fuji was indicating, Tezuka stared for a moment. It looked…like basically any other snowman ever made in the world. It was just that…

"Fuji," he said slowly, squinting.

"Hmm?"

"It's wearing glasses."

"Saa…" Fuji beamed.

-Owari-

A.N. Well…I don't have much to say, just that I liked it hope you guys did too.


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